Before Aris Kefalogiannis discovered olives, he was an Olympian water polo player. He loved the sport but it was the stamina and team work that contributed to the team's success that would serve him best. For selling Greek olives, whether in Greece or abroad, has not been easy.

The eco-minded entrepreneur, who came up with his business idea while studying in the UK, has needed to be resilient to keep his head above the water in a country that has found itself at the centre of Europe's spiralling debt crisis. Even though many believe that Greece is heading for bankruptcy and default, the speciality food giant, Gaea, is doing remarkably well.

As one of the nation's most recognisable brand names abroad, and enjoying growth rates that would make most EU governments blanch, Gaea's success has raised the tantalising question of whether food staples such as olives could help Greece's financial recovery.

The EU, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank, the bodies behind the bailouts that are keeping the country afloat, firmly believe that – together with tourism – the food processing sector can help to re-energise its economy.

Amid all the bad news — and in Greece's case it could hardly be worse – exports are the only bright light on the horizon, leaping 39% in the past year.

"We were afraid that the bad image of Greece would affect our sales, but that hasn't happened," says Kefalogiannis, who conceived of a business that would sell 100% natural olive oils, tapenades, cooking sauces and spices 16 years ago.

"Of our total turnover, 82% is overseas. Our exports grew by 12.5% last year and we're aiming for 15% overall growth in 2011."

Even in Greece, where retail sales have declined by more than 20% as the country endures a third year of recession, Gaea has recently managed to make inroads with growth rates of 9%.

However, while the award-winning producer of Greek culinary delights stands apart from the debt drama, Kefalogiannis says, "psychologically", the experience has been hard.

"It is difficult to feel that you are far away from it even when you have nothing to do with the state," he says, sitting behind a desk in the 1970s office block that is Gaea's Athens headquarters. "Within the walls of this office we are doing well. But then you go outside and you are back in Greek reality, in a society where it's impossible to prosper."

Gaea's success is testimony to the oft-remarked ability of Greeks to do well away from their highly-regulated, non-competitive homeland.

"The private sector was never encouraged but everyone now sees the fallacy of that. There is a lot of dormant power in the Greek economy and good entrepreneurship. We have vision and we work hard but, sadly, in our own country frequently we can't blossom."

At 51, Kefalogiannis, is not short of ambition. Working long days, he has ensured that Gaea products now grace the shelves of retail chains in countries as diverse as Norway, Russia, Germany and Ukraine. This year, alone, the business has moved into Brazil, Sweden and Italy.

In the US – where Gaea launched in February, teaming up with the celebrity chef Cat Cora – sales have soared thanks in part to Americans' enthusiastic embrace of the Mediterranean diet.

Yet while Gaea plays to Greece's greatest strengths – its basic ingredient being the olive groves gifted by Mother Nature – there is little about it that is self-evident, or typically Greek.

The company entered the niche foods market in 1995, long after other Mediterranean countries had moved into the same field and only after a chance encounter in the UK.

"Olive oil is Greece's liquid gold, it has been part of our culture and tradition since antiquity," Kefalogiannis enthuses. "At 18 litres per person, per annum, we also have the highest per capita consumption worldwide. But our beginnings as a company are rooted in the UK.

"It was there, during my postgraduate studies, that I met Marion Carthwright, a food gourmet, who expressed surprise that while Greece had so many authentic products you could never find them in English supermarkets. She said: 'That is what you should do.'"

Kefalogiannis' entry into the food market was as fortuitous as the firm he went on to create. He had been destined to follow his family into politics in Crete until his chance meeting with Carthwright in 1994.

"I was looking for something to do and she was very encouraging. I had a bit of money and I decided to make the move," he says.

The company's biggest market remains in the UK where Gaea's products – a mainstay of Waitrose – are sold in every supermarket with the exception of Sainsbury's.

Among Greeks, Kefalogianis is considered rare because he has allowed himself to think outside the box – an attribute the government is trying to encourage to wean Greeks off their addiction to the bloated public sector.

A diehard green, the businessmen has continually pushed the boundaries of innovation. This year, the company unveiled the first ever preservative-free, low salinity olive "snack pack", following production of the first carbon neutral olive oil.

"In terms of the quantity of olive oil produced, Greece lags behind Italy and Spain, but when it comes to top quality extra virgin oil it is number one," says Kefalogiannis who is poised to list the food giant on the ENA market of the Athens stock exchange.

"Everyone in Greece feels bad that our olive oil is often used with other blends to improve flavour and taste. The Italians have been doing it for years. But the truth is they have done a brilliant job in making olive oil a world-renowned international product and, in turn, promoting the Mediterranean diet."

He has brought his belief in team work (a legacy from his polo-playing days) to Gaea, insisting that everyone, from farmers in the olive grove to administrators in Athens, feel part of the collective effort.

"Gaea is not my vision but the vision of the team who believe in it. We've placed a lot of emphasis on educating farmers about the products. They should be dreaming of Waitrose!"

Like many businessmen who longed for Europe's last closed economy to open up, Kefalogiannis believes the Greek fiscal crisis was "a good thing", which was also inevitable.

"We had been living off borrowed money, in a non-sustainable way, in a state with far too many civil servants for far too long. Nobody in the business community underestimates the need for reform," he says.

"It sounds harsh, but I believe 100% that we needed something like this to get out of the vicious cycle we were in."